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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: humor

humor stories: 43 news summaries

21 - 40 of 43 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 Next >>

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 Not the Apple-Bobbing 
 'Fat Boy' Had in Mind 

Pursuit of late night snack lands horse in British swimming pool

Oct 16, 08 3:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - A horse’s hunger for apples got the better of him early yesterday when he ended up stuck in a British swimming pool, the Cornishman reports. The fittingly named “Fat Boy” and another pony broke into the garden of Sarah Penhaligon, 28, to snack on her apple trees. But... More »

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humor • horse • accident • Britain • apple • animal

 Now Fey's an Author, Too 

Star of SNL, 30 Rock to write a collection of essays

Oct 4, 08 12:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - Tina Fey just got a little busier. She's finalized a deal to write a collection of humorous essays for Little, Brown and Company, the New York Observer reports. Fey—currently in the spotlight for her spot-on impersonations of VP wannabe Sarah Palin—reportedly worked out a deal to fund the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Saturday Night Live • humor • Tina Fey • book

OPINION

How You Know It's a Crisis: Oprah Is Bailer-Out-in-Chief

Culture11 lists top changes to look for in our new economy

Sep 22, 08 6:17 PM CDT
(Newser) - How the Wall Street meltdown will affect our day-to-day existence, per Culture11:
  • Nation's emergency lender: Oprah.
  • Living in sin now OK; sharing a sleeping bag in tent city is new social scourge.
  • Cloning approved to allow for mass creation of Alan Greenspans.
  • Hipsters downgrade their booze
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Ben Bernanke • Alan Greenspan • list • Oprah Winfrey • humor • economy

 Study: Tell Bad Jokes 
 at Your Own Risk 

Breaking social contract with unfunny humor a good way to elicit 'impolite' response

Aug 22, 08 4:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - What did the researcher say to the reporter? Bad jokes are a good way to lose friends. A Washington State University linguist found lame humor tends to trigger serious hostility, the AP reports. The researcher had her students slip a bad joke into 207 conversations with friends, and 44% of... More »

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humor

analysis

Why Have They Lost Their Sense of Humor?

Neither campaign can take a joke, Andersen grumbles

Aug 10, 08 5:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama and John McCain can both crack a joke, so why can't they take one this election season? From Obama offending McCain with digs about the race card to McCain's laughable anti-Obama ads, serious matters are being laughed off and bad jokes are being taken seriously, Kurt Andersen writes... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • race • humor • political advertising • Election 2008

OPINION

 A Shark-Hater Fesses Up 

Distaste for 'tigers of the deep' is no longer politically correect

Aug 8, 08 12:34 PM CDT
(Newser) - Sharks were once eminently despicable creatures. Remember Jaws? Now, though, perceptions have shifted—they’re seen as endangered, misunderstood animals who chomp humans only when they mistake them for seals. (That's why they take one bite and "sheepishly" move on.) It's a source of great disappointment to Joe... More »

MORE ABOUT:
shark • humor • animal attack • animal

  Dirty Jokes of the Ancients Unearthed

Academics discover 3,000-year-old Sumerian fart joke

Aug 1, 08 8:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - Academics studying ancient texts have discovered bawdy jokes that wouldn't be out of place in a Farrelly brothers movie, the Daily Telegraph reports. "What hangs at a man’s thigh and wants to poke the hole that it’s often poked before?" asks a thousand-year-old Anglo-Saxon manuscript.  "... More »

MORE ABOUT:
humor • joke • history • ancient Egypt • ancient customs

 Muppets Spring
 Back to Life 
 on YouTube 

Appearance of Henson's famous puppets online has fans buzzing about comeback

Jul 23, 08 6:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Muppets, largely in retirement since 1981, have been pussyfooting their way back into the spotlight via YouTube, France24 notes. In the past month, Sam the Eagle, the Swedish Chef, Beaker and others have set up accounts, uploading clips on a regular basis and sharing comments like "Meep meep... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • YouTube • humor • videos • children's show • Muppets • Jim Henson

  McCain Puts the 'Pol' in 'Politically Incorrect'

Rape 'joke' turns spotlight on candidate's sense of humor

Jul 18, 08 2:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - This week's flap over a rape joke John McCain reportedly made 22 years ago inspired Politico to recall the candidate's checkered history of telling jokes. Some examples:
  • A quip about why then-18-year-old Chelsea Clinton was "so ugly.”
  • Calling a young man who asked about his age
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iran • John McCain • France • rape • humor • draft • Chelsea Clinton • Janet Reno

McCain: Skip the Bombs, Send Smokes to Iran

Mac jokes about
killing Iranians
with cigarettes

Jul 9, 08 4:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - Told that cigarette exports to Iran rose tenfold under President Bush’s reign, McCain pondered aloud:“Maybe that's a way of killing 'em." When his wife nudged him, he quickly clarified to Reuters: "I meant that as a joke—as a person who hasn't had a cigarette... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iran • John McCain • presidential campaign • humor • joke • presidential candidates

Opinion

Deepak Chopra: 'Catch God With His Pants Down'

Lighten up about religion, says new-age fan of 'Love Guru'

Jun 18, 08 2:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - Real-life new-age guru Deepak Chopra is a big fan of Mike Myers' movie, The Love Guru, and writes that laughing at God is exactly what we need right about now. "More comedies should cross the line between vulgar lampoon and reckless disrespect. Let's catch God with his... More »

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religion • comedy • humor • Deepak Chopra • The Love Guru

'Realish' Sedaris Book Skirts Memoir Scrutiny

Genre 'the last place you’d expect to find the truth,' humorist says

Jun 8, 08 10:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - With his new book of nonfiction essays, Engulfed in Flames, David Sedaris finds himself engulfed in questions of truth and accuracy. In America, the recent explosion of memoirs has been followed with one scandal after another, prompting more scrutiny of the humorist’s work. “I do think Sedaris exaggerates... More »

MORE ABOUT:
literature • humor • memoir • writer • book • fake memoirs • nonfiction books • David Sedaris

 How to Win the Caption Contest 

Don't be too funny, urges Patrick House in Slate

Jun 5, 08 6:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - Want to win the New Yorker's cartoon caption contest? The first rule: Don't be too funny. So says recent winner Patrick House, who lays out his can't-miss strategy in Slate. Keep in mind that reading the New Yorker is an introspective pursuit, one of "lonesome withdrawal." Which means... More »

MORE ABOUT:
New Yorker magazine • humor • magazine • jokes • cartoon caption contest

SNL Launches Political
Satire Site

Site serves as storehouse of show's long-running satire

May 9, 08 8:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - Saturday Night Live has unveiled a new website to showcase the program’s political humor, Broadcasting and Cable reports. Visitors can check out clips of the show’s political sketches and candidate appearances at http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/politics, or vote for their favorite president/candidate impersonator—dating back from Dana Carvey's... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Saturday Night Live • television • politics • satire • humor

 'A Bitter Man 
 Who Clings to His Guns?' 

Romney jokes on why he left race

Apr 17, 08 11:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - While the Democratic candidates were grinding away at each other last night, some other normally stiff shirts were loosening up at the Radio and Television Correspondents annual dinner in DC. The high points:
  • Dressed in hunting hat and shades (no naked lady), Dick Cheney spoofed Barack Obama’s blue-collar
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Mitt Romney • Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • Dick Cheney • Mike Huckabee • humor

Letterman, McCain Trade Comic Riffs

GOP hopeful shows up and gives as good as he gets with Dave

Apr 1, 08 8:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - David Letterman had his routine McCain-is-old shtick interrupted today with comebacks from the Arizona senator himself, the New York Times notes. In the Late Show monologue that airs tonight, Letterman fired off comments such as, “He looks like the guy at the hardware store who makes the keys”—... More »

MORE ABOUT:
John McCain • humor • joke • David Letterman • insult

it's april 1

10 Ways to Play the Fool at Work 

The most memorable April 1 office hoaxes

Apr 1, 08 11:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - A good April Fools' prank can really liven up the office, and 32% of us have been on the giving or receiving end. CNN draws 10 of the best workplace gags from an annual CareerBuilder survey.
  1. Put pants and shoes in a men’s room stall to make it
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
work • list • humor • prank • April Fools' Day

 How to Fake a Memoir 

Embellish the story without getting caught, Slate scribe suggests

Mar 12, 08 4:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - Misha Defonseca's memoir left a sticky trail of lies about escaping Nazis and living with wolves. (It turns out wolf saliva isn't an antiseptic.) Tired of careless fabricators, Slate writes a how-to for aspiring fakers:
  • Keep it vague. Dates are verifiable—"awhile" is not.
  • Watch
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
humor • James Frey • memoir • author • Margaret Seltzer • fake memoirs • Misha Defonseca • Margaret B. Jones • Nadine Gordimer • Asa Carter

Ken Jennings They're Not

Game show howlers dumb enough to make Miss Teen South Carolina blush

Feb 2, 08 7:15 AM CST
(Newser) - Perhaps there's no sadder commentary on the state of society—or at least society's IQ—than dumb responses from contestants on game shows. Reuters combs a (now-defunct) website for high and low points:
  • Q: What was Gandhi's first name? A: Goosey Goosey.
  • Q: What happened in Dallas
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Nicole Kidman • intelligence • list • humor • game show • Forrest Gump • contestants • Johnny Weissmuller • Mahatma Gandhi

Green Eggs
and Slammer: NH Judge Channels Seuss

Inmate can't keep quiet about his prison diet

Sep 21, 07 4:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - When a New Hampshire state prison inmate used a hard-boiled egg to illustrate his grievance with his institutional diet, the federal judge overseeing the case sought lofty counsel—Dr. Seuss. "I do not like eggs in the file. I do not like eggs any style," James Muirhead responded,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Dr. Seuss • New Hampshire • federal courts • humor • judge • Concord, NH

21 - 40 of 43 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 Next >>


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